Our employment lawyers are investigating employee reports of mass layoffs by oilfield services companies, such as Weatherford International. Employers who conduct a mass layoff or close a plant may be required to provide employees at least sixty days advance written notice under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act). If the employer fails to give advance notice before the layoff, employees may be able to seek damages for back pay and benefits for up to 60 days, depending on how many days’ notice of the layoff the company provided.
Oil industry employee layoffs may be covered by the WARN Act
The federal WARN Act applies to employers who have 100 or more employees (excluding employees who have worked for less than six months and those who work less than 20 hours per week). Many states also have their own WARN Act that may provide even greater worker protections thant the federal WARN Act, and apply to layoffs affecting fewer people.
Many companies in the oil industry are covered by the WARN Act.
Your employer may be required to give you advance written notice of a layoff under the WARN Act if:
- Your employer conducts a “plant closing” – where your employer shuts down a facility or operating unit at a single site of employment and lays off at least 50 full-time workers; or
- Your employer conducts a “mass layoff” – where your employer lays off either:
- Between 50 and 499 full-time workers at a single site of employment and that number is 33% of the number of full-time workers at the single site of employment; or
- 500 or more full-time workers at a single site of employment.
Want to know more about the Weatherford WARN Act investigation?
If you have been laid off by Weatherford International, our WARN lawyers would like to hear about your experience. Call toll-free (866) 981-4800 or fill out the form to the right for a free consultation with one of our employment lawyers.